Chris Willock has confirmed his move to Benfica, as Arsenal will undoubtedly be left disappointed about losing one of their top young talents.
The England U19 international failed to feature in a single Premier League game for the Gunners, as that ultimately must have helped him reach his decision to move on.
In turn, he’s penned a five-year deal with the Portuguese giants, with his move becoming official on July 1 when his Arsenal deal expired, and he’ll now hope to make the most of this new challenge.
He deserves credit for taking such a step as it’s quite a brave move when he could have stayed in a comfortable situation either at Arsenal, or remained in England with another club.
Instead, he’s testing himself abroad, but not without posting a wonderful message to Arsenal. Having been at the club for 14 years, he owes a lot to them and was sure to pay tribute and give thanks to them for helping develop him into the player that he is now.
“Since the age of 5, all I’ve known is @arsenal. I’ve gone through the youth ranks, trained and learnt from the academy. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone at Arsenal football club, staff, players, coaches, managers and the fans who have helped and influenced me to become the player I am today.
This was a huge decision for me and my family to make. And not one we made lightly. I’m excited at the opportunity to play for @slbenfica. It’s a new challenge, new culture and new group of players! Looking forward to showing them what I’ve got! #Benfica #EPluribusUnum”